| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus[1] |
| Right ascension | 12h 14m 02.697s[2] |
| Declination | −45° 43′ 26.10″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +5.31[1](5.78+ 6.98)[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | K3III[4](K4IIIab + K2IIIb)[5] |
| U−Bcolor index | +1.82/1.19[5] |
| B−Vcolor index | +1.400±0.003[1]/1.21[5] |
| Astrometry | |
| A | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +10.27±0.68[6] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −37.186[6]mas/yr Dec.: 6.606[6]mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 5.3350±0.1399 mas[6] |
| Distance | 610 ± 20 ly (187 ± 5 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −0.88[1] |
| B | |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −33.604[7]mas/yr Dec.: 5.434[7]mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 4.9297±0.0550 mas[7] |
| Distance | 662 ± 7 ly (203 ± 2 pc) |
| Details | |
| A | |
| Radius | 42.8+1.1 −2.13[6] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 434±13[6] L☉ |
| Temperature | 4,026+104 −50[6] K |
| B | |
| Radius | 13.5+1.7 −1.9[7] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 90.5±1.4[7] L☉ |
| Temperature | 4,853+275 −392[7] K |
| Other designations | |
| D Cen,CD−45°7630,GC 16703,HD 106321,HIP 59654,HR 4652,SAO 223297,CCDM J12140-4543[8] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
D Centauri is adouble star in the southernconstellation ofCentaurus.[8] The system is faintly visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combinedapparent magnitude of +5.31;[1] the two components are of magnitude 5.78 and 6.98, respectively.[3] It is located at a distance of approximately 610 light years from theSun based onparallax, and is drifting further away with aradial velocity of ~10 km/s.[6]
The dual nature of this star was announced byC. Rumker in 1837. As of 2015, the pair had anangular separation of2.70″ along aposition angle of 242°.[3] This orange-hued double has a combinedstellar classification of K3III,[4] matching an aginggiant star that has exhausted the supply of hydrogen at itscore. In 1984,C. J. Corbally found a class of K4IIIab for the primary and K2IIIb for the fainter secondary.[5]
